Deathwatch 008: Contemptor Ucuetis Complete

My Deathwatch Contemptor for the September Hobby Challenge is complete!

I decided to name the Iron Hands veteran interred within this weapon of the Emperor's fury Ucuetis. I googled forge god names and decided I liked this one.

Sculpting the arm was challenging, I've said before. Taking it on was what this month was all about, and I'm happy to have been up to it.

Here are all my completed Deathwatch minis so far. Once I get Kill Team Cassius painted, I'll start in on the minis from Death Masque.

Next up for me though is DREADTOBER!

Cheers,

CJ

Deathwatch 007: Contemptor Update

Just a quick midweek update here. I've been trying to paint a little every night this week. I've got all the silver metallic laid in so far. Tonight I plan to tackle the gold metallics. Once they're done it'll be all about the details and finishing up.

And coming right on the heels of this project is DREADTOBER! It's good to have a community that pushes one another to excell.

Cheers,

CJ

Deathwatch 006: Ready for Paint

This conversion is ready for a basecoat.

With the left over putty from the text tutorial, I sculpted a purity seal over the thin spot on the pauldron text. Then I set the arm aside and moved on to the body.

I mentioned before this the BaC Contepmtor was an ideal candidate since it has the ornamentation similar to the Relic Contempor. My all Techmarine army uses Iron Hands chapter tactics on the rare occasions it sees the table top. Deciding that this Contemptor could be an Iron Hands Deathwatch veteran, I took a look at the Iron Hands Contemptor on FW to see what I might add and decided on the bonding studs. I marked out a pattern, drilled and countersunk holes, and used steel sewing pins. The right pauldron got ten studs and an Iron Hands sigil.

With a little deconstructing a train wreck of a base was converted to one that works really well.

I am good at fixing gaps in models and sculpting purity seals. This whole arm was definitely a challenge. I'm glad I decided to try, and am pleased with the results overall. I look forward to trying my hand at more new things in future projects.

Cheers,

CJ

Deathwatch 004: Dreadnought Conversion

As I stated previously, I'm participating in the September Hobby Challenge as presented on fourdadsoftheapocalypse.blogspot.com. Ive been meaning to post my progress sooner this week but it's been a tumultuous one. Enough about that, though.

First thing I did was put a piece of floral wire in place to mount the arms. Now I can put it together and look at it, instead of having to hold everything in place while I ponder hobby philosophy ;)

The most distinctive feature of the Deathwatch is, after the black and silver power armour, the left arm and especially the shoulder pauldron. The BaC Contemptor comes with some ornamentation to it, so I focused on the arms. I made the pauldron's gardbrace and the couter out of .020 sheet styrene. The cog tooth pattern on the right arm was made from a stick of .030x.060 styrene stock and careful trimming.

Then I broke out the green stuff and very carefully set to creating the pattern of lines of text on the pauldron. I did my best, and I think it will pass the all important three foot test. I'll build up the text one face of the shoulder at a time then come in with successive layers to finish the Deathwatch insignia. I'll also sculpt the skull and starburst on the couter.

Paint hides a multitude of sins XD

Cheers,

CJ

Paint Table Saturday (on Sunday)

Another late edition. This week saw the release of Codex: Astra Militarum. I'm working on not-quite-Creed, as well as a Tempestus Scions command unit.

Here they are, along with the pieces of not-quite-Creed, and the completed Contemptor weapon upgrades. More on these soon.

Cheers,

CJ

Not Quite Creed

First things first, here is an obligatory shot of the Tempestus Scions sprues. There are so many extra bits in this kit, it is amazing. There are 17 different heads. I really bought the kit for the stormcoat, everything else is gravy.

This is my first attempt at producing a substitute model for Lord Castellan Ursarkar Creed. I've been using Creed as my army commander since the 2009 codex was released. His command bubble combined with his special rules make him a no brainer for infantry heavy forces in my opinion. I hope he persists through the latest iteration of the Imperial Army. In early 2012, I attempted to give a stock figure from the Cadian command squad box a stormcoat fashioned from a sniper camo cloak and greenstuff. The sculpt worked out alright at first, but as I got closer to completion I started questioning my confidence in the process and it ground to a halt. I've been playing with a half done Creed model ever since.

Fast forward to mid March 2014, and the pictures of the Tempestus Scions started circulating on the interwebs. When I saw the model with the stormcoat, I was dubiously optimistic that the coat would be a separate set of bits... and it was.

With the careful application of a #11 blade and a file, I was able to use the same style of torso for my not-quite-Creed conversion. I used the arm sockets on both the Scions torso and the Cadian torso as a guideline of where to remove material. In keeping with the overall theme of my blog, I have neglected to take photos of the process. At this point I think I might need to post a reminder on my wall. Already looking more sharpish than my attempt. 

A bit more of careful snipping, pinning, and gluing, a Cadian Sergeant's laspistol was fitted to the hand under the coat. The standing legs needed the blouse trimmed in the seat to fit under the coat. For the left arm I chose the command baton. I figure that with Creed being Creed, he would have access to some pretty cool stuff. Finally, for a head I chose the peaked cap head from the Cadian Command sprue.

I've got all three pieces of not-quite-Creed ready for paint at this point. He takes his place next to the nearly finished weapon upgrades for my Contemptor...

...of which the Kheres pattern assault cannon is complete!

Cheers,

CJ

Paint Table Saturday no. 8

It is time for the eighth installment of Paint Table Saturday.

I had a busy week, as you can see. I got this AdMech Marine finished, as well as the assembly and beginning the painting of the Contemptor's weapon upgrades.

Cheers,

CJ

Contemptor Up Armed

I got myself some Contemptor upgrades recently, in the form of an assault cannon, a heavy conversion beamer, and a plasma cannon. The HCB has some fiddly bits, but the assembly will be fairly straight forward. The plasma cannon is one piece, so no problems there. The assault cannon, though, was another story. There were six pieces: The muzzle clamp, three barrel pieces, the gun housing, and the piece that runs underneath the gun. I needed ten pins in these six pieces to get it together in a fashion that I was comfortable would not fail under the rigours of travel and gaming. I wish I stopped to take a picture, but the glue was set before it crossed my mind.

Both the close combat arm and multi melta arm are magnetized, but they are oriented in such a way that the pieces aren't interchangeable. The solution? More magnets and some pins to boot.

With a little force the multi melta was slipped from it's elbow joint. The tab which slots into the elbow joint will be used as the attach point. The one from the multi melta will serve well for the right arm. A second elbow tab was prepared with magnets for the left arm.

All of the heavy weapons for the Contemptor have the same style 'hub' where the elbow tabs slot home. I drilled holes in the center of each hub, one side at a time. Once the holes were done, I slotted the tabs into the heavy weapons and drilled through their centers. Using pins prepared pins from floral wire, the heavy weapons will be secured to the attach points drilled through both the hubs and tabs.

With these simple modifications, my Contemptor can field any combination of weapons I have in my armoury.

The final upgrade this model received was a new waist pin. The old one was largely serviceable still, but the thin wire was harder to get in place, and prone to bend. The new pin is brass rod.

I look forward in testing some of the new arsenal on the table sometime soon.

Cheers,

CJ